Accidentally in Love Chapter Twenty three point five
by bingblot
Summary: A smutty insert for my other fic, "Accidentally in Love," of Castle and Beckett's first night together, but it should work as a stand-alone too.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: A (smutty) insert between Chapters 23 and 24 of my fic, "Accidentally in Love," but it should be able to stand alone. Fair warning, if anyone is looking for a plot, you won't find it here.

 **Accidentally in Love**

 _An Interlude_

Castle's bedroom was through his office, not upstairs. On a different floor from sleeping Alexis, which might end up being lucky to avoid traumatizing the poor girl, Kate peripherally noted in the small corner of her mind that was still functioning properly. Not that she was normally very loud but, if the way he kissed was any indication, she had a feeling Castle could bring it out in her.

She felt a shiver of mingled anticipation and arousal ripple through her.

And then she was in Castle's bedroom but before she had so much as a moment to look around, Castle turned back to her and cupped her face in his hands to kiss her, hard and deep and somehow gentle as well, and she sagged into him, feeling fresh spirals of arousal winding up her body, her skin buzzing, her whole body tight with how much she wanted him.

It was ridiculously fast but it had been a while and the attraction between them was burning as brightly as a forest fire and she had a dizzy certainty that this was going to be good…

He broke off the kiss on a gasp. "Kate," he panted against her skin, "I'm really glad you're here."

Such simple words to affect her so much but they did, warmth coiling in her chest and pooling low in her stomach.

"Yeah?" she smiled against his skin and pressed her lower body against his, the growing hardness in his pants. "Show me."

He huffed something that might have been a laugh against her neck and took her at her word, trailing his lips along the line of her jaw and down her neck, sucking on her pulse point, as he gently nudged her backwards until the back of her knees hit his bed and she was falling back onto it. Kate pulled him down with her and he toppled somewhat ungracefully, landing half on top of her, his weight enough to push the breath from her lungs but she didn't even care because she could feel him against her, hard and heavy even through the layers of their clothes, and oh yeah… Her mouth went dry with anticipation, her mind leaping ahead to what he would feel like over her, inside her, filling her.

"Kate, you okay?"

Damn the chivalrous man, drawing back and lifting his weight off of her, putting distance between them.

"I'm fine." Or she would be fine, once they were both naked. "I'll tell you if I'm not," she promised briefly, taking advantage of the space between them to tug his shirt up, baring his flat stomach and chest to her eager gaze. _Mm, very nice…_

His arms were preventing her from tugging his shirt all the way off so she momentarily gave up and levered herself up to press her lips to his chest. She felt his reaction quiver through him and smirked against his skin as she let her lips trace the muscles of his pectorals, her tongue flicking out against the flat, male nipples, while her hands made their own journey of exploration, sliding over the smooth, heated skin.

He groaned and then as if she'd pushed him past some breaking point, he went into action, impatiently tugging his shirt up and over his shoulders, flinging it aside, and then managing to make quick work of the buttons of her shirt, revealing her utterly utilitarian black bra.

Oh, she hadn't even thought of that, wasn't exactly dressed for seduction. But it didn't seem to matter to Castle in the slightest, judging from the heated look in his eyes, now almost midnight blue.

And then his eyes caught and held on something, his expression abruptly freezing, changing. She looked down—oh. Her mother's ring. It had—amazingly—slipped her mind but Castle clearly remembered its significance.

She lifted the chain up and over her head and he reached out with a hand to help her lay it on the nightstand beside the bed, making sure the ring was placed on it as gently as if a breath could shatter it. Her heart stuttered a little. She'd never let anyone else handle the ring—but then again, none of the other guys she'd been with had known of its significance either.

She turned back to him, sliding one hand behind his neck to bring his lips to hers, and he kissed her softly this time, tenderness rather than passion in his kiss.

And then he drew back again to look at her, lust again creeping its way across his face as he gazed.

"Kate," he breathed, "you're gorgeous."

He suited action to the words by cupping her breast with his hand, shaping, squeezing it and sending sensation shooting through her nerve endings even through the fabric of her bra, as he started using his mouth too. He kissed his way down her chest, nipping lightly at her collar bone, and then traced the line of her bra with his lips and his tongue. She arched up towards him, the wet heat of his mouth on her skin igniting sparks of drugging pleasure, and she was vaguely surprised when she felt the clasp on her bra come undone and then he helped her slide the straps from her arms, discarding her bra carelessly on the floor. He undid the fastenings of her slacks and she impatiently pushed them down, off her hips, and took her underwear with them, and he completed the task of undressing her, sliding her pants and her underwear the rest of the way off her legs.

That done, he wasted no time returning to his ministrations to her breasts, cupping her in his hands and closing his mouth around one peaked nipple, drawing a sharp gasp from her. He swirled his tongue around the hardened tip, suckled, and then— _oh oh god, Castle_ —grazed it with his teeth, as she tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him in place and trying to tug him closer.

She writhed, her hips rolling up, seeking the hard press of his body against hers, friction and pressure where she wanted him, and he shifted just enough to hold her in place. She vaguely heard a little whine of frustration and belatedly realized it came from her as his mouth released her nipple, drifting from her chest and down to her stomach. She tugged at his hair in an attempt to make him return to doing those amazing things to her breasts but he resisted and she huffed in frustration as he nipped and nuzzled a leisurely—maddening—path down her ribcage.

She rocked her hips into him and tried, again, to direct his head back up but he ignored that tug just as he had the last one. _Damn it, Castle…_ She wanted him to keep working his magic on her breasts. She could have come just from the hot tug of his mouth on her nipple, the graze of his teeth.

"Ssh, Kate, let me," he murmured against her skin, stringing slow kisses across her stomach, darting his tongue into her navel and then moved on further.

Her head fell back onto the pillow, a little growl of frustration getting caught in her throat. She'd never found that having guys go down on her did much for her but if he wanted to, why not. "Oh fine, just get it over with," she huffed.

That made him lift his head entirely. "Get it over with," he repeated. "Kate, haven't you—"

"Of course I have," she cut him off, stupidly feeling her cheeks heat. She wasn't that inexperienced.

He lowered his lips to her skin again. "Oh Kate," his voice slid a couple notes lower into dark, velvety confidence, a tone that sank into her ears, feathered across her nerve endings, and—she hadn't known just a voice could do that to her—sent moisture pooling between her thighs, "you have no idea."

But even then, he took his time. Oh god, did he take his time. His lips drifted over to the curve of her hip, pausing to trace her tattoo with his tongue. "You have a tattoo; you are so hot," he murmured.

He startled her a little by licking the crease of her thigh, making her thighs tense and then fall open, but he went on, his hands caressing, smoothing over her thighs, but always avoiding the center of her where she expected him. He moved on, skimming his lips low across her abdomen, and kissed and licked the crease of her other thigh. She shuddered involuntarily at the sensation, her over-sensitized skin burning.

And then finally, he put his mouth on her. _Oh god._ The shock of sensation of the first touch of his tongue to her center went through her like a livewire, her hips jolting sharply off the bed only to be effectively pinned down by his arm.

Her head fell back, her mouth opening on a cry that was mostly silent from lack of breath to make a sound, as she panted and gasped and _burned_. His hands and his shoulders held her open, anchored her to the world as everything else fell away, leaving nothing but him and the devastating touch of his lips and—and oh god what was he doing with his tongue and was that his _teeth_?—and _oh oh oh god Castle…_

She was gasping, almost sobbing, for breath, her vision blurry, her hips writhing helplessly as she tried to get away from the sensory overload or get closer to the mind-blowing, amazing things he was doing to her—she didn't know which—and then she felt him slide one finger into her and her entire body jerked and spasmed. The combination of his finger inside her, his hot tongue against her, made the spiraling tension inside her snap and she shattered, emitting a strangled cry in which his name was barely discernible.

She collapsed onto the bed, small aftershocks of pleasure rippling through her. He led her down from the high gently, dropping small, oddly soothing closed-mouth kisses back up along her body until he reached her mouth again.

Her lips parted for his kiss and she could taste herself on his tongue and it somehow made fresh heat build inside her, pool low in her stomach, as she arched against him and belatedly realized as her naked skin came into contact with fabric, that he was somehow still wearing his jeans.

That wasn't good. She fumbled a little as she undid the fastening of his pants and pushed them down, before cupping him through the silky fabric of his boxers, drawing a groan from him. _Oh lord._ A shiver of anticipation raced through her as she palmed him, explored the hot, hard length of him, first through his boxers and then slipped her hand into the waistband to caress him skin to skin.

He gasped and shuddered, his hips jerking, before he grasped her wrist, tugging her hand away, and hastily finished the task of undressing until he was completely, wonderfully, naked.

 _Oh god, yes…_

She reached for him, pulling him against her, desperate for the skin to skin contact of his naked body against hers, gasping as she felt the length of him nudging against her, almost but not quite where she needed him to be. She slid her hands around to grip his butt, trying to get him the rest of the way, but he resisted—again.

"Wait," he gasped, "we need—condom."

Oh. She stilled, the word startling her, breaking through her haze of arousal a little as she realized how close she'd gotten to forgetting about protection entirely. She might be on the pill but she didn't trust easily and had never so much as considered not using a condom. And had never lost so much control of herself that she almost forgot about it either and she felt color creeping into her cheeks. "Right. Do you—"

He shifted and rolled away from her, reaching into his nightstand. He opened the package and rolled the rubber on with a practiced ease that had the awareness of his reputation trying to nudge its way into her mind, but then it was forgotten as he rolled back, leaning in to kiss her. His tongue slicked past the seam of her lips and she felt her entire body respond, the fire building back up as one of his hands cupped her breast, tweaked her nipple with his fingers. God, she didn't know how he did it, how the simplest caress made everything in her surge with sheer _want_.

She pushed on his shoulders and it was her turn to roll as she flipped them over, shifting to straddle his lap. A faint smirk crossed her lips as she saw his eyes widen but then her mind went fuzzy as she sank down onto him slowly until he filled her completely. _Oohhh…_ Her eyes fluttered closed, her lips parting on a breathy sigh, as she adjusted to the feel of him filling her, stretching her, because he was… definitely not small and it had been a while for her and… He rocked his hips a little, deliberately or not, she wasn't sure, but a little moan escaped her at the ripple of pleasure that radiated outwards because oh god, he felt _amazing_ …

Her hands fell to grip his shoulders as his own hands moved to her hips and then she was rolling her hips as he began to thrust up into her. Slowly at first but then with increasing speed and urgency as their bodies found a rhythm, everything inside her coiling, building, as she neared the precipice with startling speed.

"Oh. Oh god, Castle," she gasped, feeling her body start to tighten.

"Kate," he gritted out and then as she gasped for breath, he rolled them over again, the change in angle allowing him to push inside her her yet more deeply and giving him more control as he thrust once, twice—and the tension snapped, starbursts exploding behind her eyelids as coruscating pleasure seared her every nerve ending. She was only vaguely aware of his hoarse cry as he stiffened and jerked, exploding inside her barely a moment later.

He collapsed on top of her and she welcomed the weight of him, the intimacy of it, even as she felt rather as if she were dissolving into the mattress. He only lay on top of her for a moment though, pushing himself to roll onto his back with a movement like a felled oak. It was another few minutes before he stirred, leaning over to brush his lips against her cheek, and then he stood, going into what she hazily guessed was an en suite bathroom.

Kate didn't even try to move as she waited for her bones to seemingly knit back into place, her heart rate to return to normal. Oh lord. She'd had good sex—even great sex—before, or at least, she'd thought she had, but she might have to adjust her standards for what great sex was like because this, with Castle… She'd never known anything like it, was used to having to work towards her own pleasure, but this had been different, more, on every level. The way he'd touched her, kissed her, the feel of his hands and his mouth and his tongue—oh his tongue… Sensory memory rippled through her, not quite arousing—not yet, she was a little too sated for that—but it planted a seed of anticipation for more. And she'd thought she'd been attracted to Castle before…

Some more coherence drifted back into her mind and she shifted, rearranging her head onto the pillow as she took stock of his bedroom that she hadn't had the brain power to look at earlier. His bedroom was… nice, oddly surprising and yet not surprising at all. It fit with the rest of the loft, luxurious but understated, more overtly masculine than the rest of the loft with its earthy tones, but still comfortable, homey. Not at all some sort of slick bachelor pad, what she might have expected from Richard Castle, the celebrity playboy she'd read about on Page Six.

She was in _Richard Castle's_ bedroom, in his bed, the thought darted across her mind, accompanied by the memory of the ease with which he'd unwrapped and put on the condom. She hadn't thought of him as Richard Castle, the rich celebrity, when she'd been on her way here tonight; she had come here for Castle, Rick, the real man she'd gotten to know, her friend, the man she thought she could fall for with frightening ease.

A little niggle of uncertainty, of lingering insecurity, fluttered to life in her chest but she batted it back. No, no, she wasn't going to think like that. It didn't matter that he could be with anyone he wanted; he wanted her now. She _trusted_ him—she did—and whatever his past or his reputation, he was here with her now, cared about her.

Lanie was going to flip. The thought of her best friend's reaction had an involuntary smile curving her lips, amusement sprouting inside her, and at that moment, Castle emerged from the bathroom in all his naked glory—oh yeah, definitely glorious—and her smile widened in spite of herself as she didn't even try to pretend not to be studying him—oh fine, ogling him—as he returned to the bed.

He slid into bed beside her and leaned over to touch his smiling lips to hers briefly. "See something you like, Detective?"

"Hmm," she pretended to think about it, biting the inside of her lip to contain her smile. She wasn't usually a very fun person and obviously at work, she was almost always serious but somehow, with him, humor and teasing came easier. "Your bed is very comfortable," she informed him with mock thoughtfulness.

He let out a brief laugh as he propped himself up on his elbow beside her, his other hand falling to rest on her stomach, his fingers tracing idle patterns over her skin. "You are welcome in my bed any time." He spoke lightly enough but there was a thread of something deeper underlying his tone that caught at her, somehow reminded her of her earlier wondering.

"How many women have been in this bed?" she blurted out, the words spilling from her lips without conscious volition.

He stilled and blinked, something she couldn't read flitting across his expression, and she winced. God, what a blunt, gauche thing to ask. "No, never mind, you don't have to—"

He cut her off with a quick shake of his head and a single word answer. "Two."

Two? She managed not to stare at him. "Your ex-wife and your ex-girlfriend?" she guessed.

He shook his head again. "Meredith, my ex-wife, was one, yes, and now, you."

"Oh," was all she could think to say, warmth flaring in her chest. She abruptly remembered what he'd said when they'd first come into his bedroom earlier, that he was really glad she was here. In his bedroom, where only one other woman had ever been. Oh god, really?

He lowered his eyes to focus on his hand where it rested on her stomach. "I'm not going to deny that I've been with my share of women, Kate, but I don't bring them here, into my home, my bedroom. There's Alexis to think about but also," he paused and lifted his eyes to meet hers, "it's like I said, I trust you."

Any remaining doubt in him dissolved into nothing as she slid her hand behind his neck and tugged him down to kiss him, slowly, her chest tight with so much affection and happiness and hope.

When the kiss ended, she realized that somehow they seemed to have drifted even closer together, his arm around her and keeping her entire body tucked securely into the curve of his. His hand was wandering lazily over her stomach and her side, idle sweeping caresses, while he contented himself with dropping the occasional feather-light kisses to her face, her temple, the tip of her eyebrow, along her hairline, her cheekbone, the bridge of her nose. Aimless touches of his lips to random places that he somehow managed to make seem precious.

It was a sort of lazy, pointless affection she'd never experienced before. None of the guys she'd been with before had been much into cuddling—admittedly, she didn't think she was either—she was used to touches, caresses, that had a definite purpose, to either get her into bed or arouse her when she was in it, but this sort of touching with no purpose other than general closeness, lazy intimacy—this was new. It wasn't something she would have expected to like much either, not really being a demonstrative, affectionate type of person. But she liked this. And as she was beginning to realize, everything about being with Castle was different. _He_ was different. Or maybe, she was different when she was with him.

Her eyes drifted closed as she let his closeness, his gentle touches, lull her into a sort of somnolence as she somewhat belatedly became aware of how tired she actually was. It had been a long, draining day—no, make that a long, draining couple weeks.

His hand drifted further down her side to rest on her hip. "Hey, Kate?" he murmured.

She opened her eyes. "Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something now?"

"Mm, what?"

"Why the tattoo?"

The question roused her a little as she cast her glance down to where his hand was curved around her hip, one of his fingers lightly tracing over where she knew her tattoo was, although from this angle, she couldn't see it, the small line of delicate script reading 'Truth prevails.'

"It's for my mom," she began quietly and felt the subtle quiver of tension go through his body at her words, the way he pressed a light kiss of comfort and reassurance to her temple.

"It's from a quote my mom liked. 'Truth is powerful and it prevails.'" Her mom had liked to quote that line, when she was reviewing depositions and witness testimony to piece together the story to make her case to defend her clients.

"That's by Sojourner Truth, right?"

She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Castle, who she already knew was well-read, would be familiar with the source of the quote. "Yes. My mom quoted it a lot so after…" After her mom had died but Kate found she couldn't say that and instead switched it around, "when I was in the Academy, I got it to remind me of her, my goal to find out the truth of what happened to my mom…" She paused, swallowed past the tightness in her throat, and looked up at him, met his eyes, soft with compassion and understanding. "And to remind me not to become the kind of cop who puts expediency, case closure numbers or anything else, over finding out the truth."

"Kate," he breathed, cupping her cheek with his hand. His lips curved ever so slightly into a faint, tender smile. "I was right. You really are extraordinary."

Oh, this man who looked at her as if she was some kind of super-hero, the most amazing person in the world.

He lowered his head to kiss her, his mouth warm and gentle, and she slid her hands around his neck, responding to his kiss with everything in her, all that she felt for him swirling in her chest. And offered up a silent promise to herself, to him, that she would try to be the extraordinary person he already thought she was.

* * *

 _A/N 2: Thank you all for reading and reviewing._


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I wasn't planning on writing more of Castle and Beckett's first night but Beckett had different ideas about that. More smut and still no plot. This is for mobazan27—consider this a reward and thanks for your patience.

 **Accidentally in Love**

 _An Interlude, continued_

Kate startled awake, disoriented and at first a little panicked at the realization that she wasn't alone in her bed before she realized, oh right, this wasn't her bed. She was in Castle's bed and it was Castle sleeping beside her. She relaxed, settling back into the mattress.

She wasn't used to sharing a bed with someone. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually slept in the same bed with a man—had it been when she was in Kiev, with Pawel? It might have been. She'd had some wild nights in college early on and a few one night stands when she'd been in the academy and during her early days on the force, when she'd just wanted release, a relief from the tension of her days, but none of them had ever involved sharing a bed once the physical stuff was over. And the same went with Adam, her last pseudo-relationship, where they had shared a bed for sex but nothing more.

For one thing, she didn't trust many people enough to sleep beside them. Tonight, she'd drifted off before she'd realized it but it hardly mattered because she did trust Castle.

She couldn't see a clock but she guessed that she had only slept for an hour or two. And now, in spite of her tiredness, she was awake again, not quite used to this sensation of sharing a bed, of feeling the length of another body against hers. Not because it was uncomfortable—far from it—it just felt… foreign.

Castle was sleeping soundly. She could hear the steady sound of his deep breaths, feel the warm puffs of air stirring strands of her hair. It was amazing, really, this overwhelming sense of being sheltered and cozy and so very warm. She tended to run cold but Castle was radiating heat like a furnace. Sharing a bed with him was going to be delightful in winter.

Wait, what? Winter? It was April. Why—and how—was she already leaping ahead to winter in her thoughts, as if it was a foregone conclusion that she and Castle would still be sleeping together in the winter? That she and Castle would still be together more than six months from now, when she'd never had a relationship that lasted that long.

There was no guarantee of that; she was afraid to hope for that. Still thought, maybe even expected, in some corner of her mind, that this couldn't last, was too good to last forever.

She pushed aside the pinch of desolation she felt at just the thought. No, no, she couldn't think about that. She wouldn't think about that.

All she had was now, this moment, and she would enjoy this while it lasted.

On the thought, she stirred, shifting by careful increments, to allow her to turn enough so she could see him. It was late and dark in his room but of course, in Manhattan, even at night, it was never completely pitch-black and enough light from street lamps filtered in through the window shades and it helped that she and Castle were lying curled up together, close enough in proximity to allow her to survey him in his sleep.

His features were slack and relaxed and she allowed herself a tiny smile as she noticed that some tufts of hair were standing up on end while a few others had flopped down over his forehead. Her heart turned into a soft, melting thing in her chest. He was just so… cute like this, looked boyish and young.

Her gaze focused on his mouth and the warmth in her chest changed, desire stirring to life inside her because, oh, now she knew what his mouth tasted like, felt like, the incredible things his mouth could do to her.

Her eyes slid lower to what she could see of his chest. No, he was definitely not a boy. He wasn't overly muscled but she didn't tend to like that anyway. His chest and pectoral muscles were just toned enough, a broad, solid wall of comfort, and as she already knew, his stomach was flat and firm, felt just perfect when it was pressing down over her.

What had she thought, that she should take advantage of this moment? Mm, okay, she could definitely do that.

She reached out her hand first just to rest it on his chest, feel the solid strength of him, the rhythmic thump of his heart. But her hand didn't stay still for long, the defined planes of his chest, his smooth, hot skin, calling to her, as she let her hand wander, doing her best to keep her touches light. She swept her hands across the breadth of his shoulders, appreciating how strong he was. She let her hands drift lower, traced the muscles of his pectorals with the tip of her finger, circled around the flat male nipples, and then brushed over them, once, twice.

He released a small sigh and stirred a little and she momentarily paused but he didn't wake, only slept on.

Her hand explored further as she carefully slid the covers further down to reveal more of his body for her, ahem, delectation. Did she see something she liked—oh yes, very much so. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen anything she liked quite as much as this…

Her fingers traced light caressing patterns over his chest, mapping every sexy inch of his strong chest, and down his stomach, delighting in the way his body reacted to her touch, even in sleep. The muscles of his stomach tensed a little in automatic reaction and more importantly, another part of his body was definitely waking up. She let her hand drift further down so she could stroke and pet the hardening length of him. He gave a small hum of pleasure in the back of his throat, his head stirring on the pillow, and glancing up, she saw the faint smile curving his lips as if he was having a pleasant dream.

That was nice but she did rather want him to be awake. She shifted closer and let her mouth join the fun, dropping light kisses across his chest, pausing to flick her tongue delicately against his flat nipple. And all the while, she kept her eyes on his face, watched as he shifted his head a little side to side, as if fighting the urge to wake up, and then his eyes fluttered open, blinking sleepily, before his gaze lowered to meet hers as she went on kissing his chest.

His eyes flared wide with surprise and pleasure, his body instantly leaping to hard, throbbing life beneath her hand. "Kate," he choked out.

She smirked up at him. "Hi, Sleeping Beauty."

A ragged laugh escaped his throat. "Oh god, Kate."

She returned to kissing his skin, swirled her tongue around his nipple, making his entire body jerk, and then she proceeded to kiss and lick her way down his stomach, tasting the slight saltiness of his skin. Her hand wasn't idle either, tracing the hot, hard length of him with her fingers before wrapping fully around him. His hips jerked and he moaned quietly. She stroked him lightly at first, and then with more firmness, as his hips stirred restlessly on the bed.

Teasingly, she hovered over his arousal for a moment, knowing he could feel the puff of her breath against him.

"Kate, you don't have to—"

She cut off his words by taking him into her mouth and he groaned, his head falling back, his hands fisting in the sheets. She made a humming sound in the back of her throat, knowing he would be able to feel the vibration of it, and he cried out. Mm, she liked this, liked being able to do this to him, liked asserting her own power over his body.

Besides, she was a detective, after all. She should detect, investigate what he liked, how to pleasure him.

She drew back, releasing him from her mouth, and instead resorted to touching her tongue delicately to his tip. He made an incoherent noise. She attended to the length of him with brief licks before giving him a longer lick, applying more pressure with her tongue. He made a sound that could only be described as a growl.

His hips were twitching, moving restlessly on the bed, not that he could—or appeared to be trying to—go far. "Kate… oh god oohhh please…" he gasped.

Since he asked nicely… She took him fully into her mouth again, licking and sucking. God, it was so hot to be able to do this to him. She could feel the molten heat pooling low in her stomach, the wet ache building between her thighs.

He was gasping for breath and she felt him tug gently on her hair, choking out her name, in an unspoken signal that she didn't have to, ahem, finish this.

She normally wouldn't have but with him—maybe because he didn't expect it, certainly wasn't insisting on it—she wanted to. She pressed her tongue against him and then sucked again and then he let go and came in a hot rush.

He fell back on the bed, panting, his expression a little dazed and a lot sated, and she crawled back up until she was once more lying beside him, watching him with a dangerous, almost painful warmth building in her chest. Because this, being able to do this to him, watching him in this moment of bliss and know that it was because of her, was so precious, meant so much more to her than just the satisfaction of physical desire, in a way that she'd never felt before.

(Oh crap, she was so doomed.)

"Oh my god, Kate…" he gasped, his hand grasping hers and bringing it to his lips to kiss her palm in an amazingly tender gesture considering the circumstances. "I'm the one who had no idea."

"Just returning the favor," she smiled.

He returned the smile, his eyes flaring and then becoming heavy-lidded with sensual intent. "Oh but now it's your turn," he promised, his voice low and husky and she felt a small shiver go through her in reaction. She had absolutely no doubt of that.

He reached for her, sliding his hand behind her neck, to bring her in to kiss her, deep and thorough, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. He must be able to taste himself in her mouth and why that thought did it for her, she didn't know but it did, fresh heat spilling through her veins.

She moaned into his mouth because god, he was such a good kisser, and he responded by deepening the kiss yet further, rolling to press her into the mattress, sliding his thigh between hers, providing some pressure where she wanted it. Not enough but it was something.

He moved on, sliding his lips down her chin and her neck, nuzzling her throat with soft damp kisses.

His hands weren't idle, one of his hands sliding up her side to cup her breast, shaping it, squeezing it, and she gasped, arching into him. He shifted lower, his mouth nipping along the thin skin over her collarbone and then soothing the spots with his tongue and she tangled her fingers in his hair to encourage him to move further down. And he listened, thank goodness.

He closed his mouth over her nipple and she could swear she felt the sensation shooting through her entire body. He let his teeth graze the taut nipple and she cried out. _Oh oh oh god…_

She was so focused on the devastating workings of his mouth on her breast that she was a little startled to feel his hand sliding between her thighs and then she groaned at the first touch of him where she wanted, needed, him to be. She shifted her hips, arching in a desperate attempt to get closer to him, and he gave her what she wanted, sliding one finger into her. _Oh god yes…_

She could swear her eyes rolled back in her head as she panted for breath, her hips rolling, and then things dissolved into a heated, urgent blur. He had moved on to minister to her other breast, licking and sucking, and he slid a second finger into her and she cried out, her hips jerking, her body straining. He sucked hard on her nipple as he curled his fingers inside her, managing to press against the center of her, and that did it, the coiling tension snapping and sending her flying into bliss.

She collapsed back onto the mattress, limp and breathless, as he gently slid his hand from between her thighs and moved to drop an undemanding, feather-light kiss on the corner of her lips.

"That was incredible, Kate," he breathed.

"Mm," she mumbled, not quite able to muster the brain power to respond.

She felt utterly relaxed as she curled into him, fitting her body against the length of his, as he slid his arms around her. She was, for once, quite happy to let the world turn without her, and let her mind drift, pretending that the warm cocoon of his bed made up the boundaries of the world.

She felt safe with Castle, she thought fuzzily, safe and sheltered and cared for in a way she hadn't felt in years. Even in her current state of blissed-out lethargy, she didn't expect it to last forever but she would enjoy it for now, let it replenish her reservoir of strength.

For now, she was with Castle and she didn't want anything else.

 _~The End~_

 _(For real, this time.)_

A/N 2: Thank you, as always, to all readers and reviewers.


End file.
